Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) to Issue $0.83 Quarterly Dividend

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 12th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.825 per share by the business services provider on Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%.

Waste Management has increased its dividend payment by an average of 9.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 22 consecutive years. Waste Management has a payout ratio of 38.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Waste Management to earn $8.76 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.7%.

Waste Management Stock Down 3.2%

Waste Management stock traded down $7.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $225.41. The company had a trading volume of 2,974,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,653,818. The business has a fifty day moving average of $228.54 and a 200 day moving average of $221.24. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $90.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.15, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 3,094 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $705,772.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,241,066.93. The trade was a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Waste Management stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 51.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.29.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.